About Me

Sunday, September 23, 2012

Nothing says fall like 94 degree days! I am dragging out the Halloween decorations from the attic, and have to stop and sit a spell ever so often to avoid heat stroke. The pumpkins are making, due to constant watering and the cooler nights. During the day, the vines slump and wilt, a most pitiful sight, but perk up during the cool of the nightime hours. We have tried to plant lettuce three times, only to watch the seedlings swelter and shrivel up in the heat. The tomatoes are finally setting fruit. Should have a pretty good crop during the latter part of October. The fall harvest should begin around that time, with pumpkins, peppers, tomatoes, eggplant, spinach, lettuce, squash, cucumbers. The cabbage , broccoli, cauliflower, will be a bit later in the season. The market has been busy on Saturdays, and to prepare for the impending holiday season, we are going to start opening on Fridays from noon until 4:00 PM as well as our usual Saturdays 10:00 AM until 4:00 PM . Our first friday open will be October 5. We will start harvesting the pumpkins that first weekend as well. Some new items will be found in the market for fall. The homemade kettle corn, caramel apples, fresh homemade noodles, Sour dough bread, added to the this and that, that is already available. The freezer is restocked with select cuts ground beef, $5.00 lb. Will have chicken breasts the first weekend in October, $4.50 lb. as well as ground pork $4.00lb. We are waiting patiently for Poppy to calve, to refurbish our cow milk supply..... she is not in any big hurry. We have found a boyfriend for Maizy May,( LuLu's) as we cannot let her in with the rest of the group, as her Big Daddy, Colorado is with them, we do not want to cross the line with any taboos (ick!) Hopefully Little Daddy, Montana, ( no relation to anyone here) will be added to our family soon and Maizy May will be ecstatic! From our farmstead to your table, thank you for all of your support!!!

Sunday, September 16, 2012

For weeks I hounded the Farmer to keep the second Saturday of September project free, so that we could take a mini-vacation( we go after chores are finished in the morning, return before choretime in the evening) to Clarita Oklahoma, to attend the Amish School Auction. I have a deep fascination for the people that choose to live a simple, productive life, free from the clutter of modern technology, high tech communication, and the quagmire of junk that infiltrates our lives in the form of offending language, immodest clothing, uncontrollable children, religious indifference. The Farmer often comments on how interesting it would be to try to live one day as the Amish do, to see if we could "cut the mustard". I ponder wistfully about saying farewell to all of my kitchen gadgets. We found ourselves smack dab in the middle of an Amish farm with thousands of other people, coming to support the efforts of the community to raise money for their school. As I understand it, the children go through grade 8, then begin working to prepare themselves for marriage and family. The boys, learning a trade, farming, woodworking, ironworks, etc. The girls, learning family and household responsibilities. I would bet the farm that there isn't an Amish girl to be found that doesn't know how to make a decent biscuit. As we wandered the pastures and watched as the modern world invaded the peace and tranquility of this Amish farm, with automobiles, mobile phones, bare legs and heads, I could not help but notice the people that moved with quiet dignity, dressed in simple, nondescript clothing, the children well behaved, the adults politely tolerating the curiosity of the"outsiders" like myself. Whether their beliefs are wrong or right, their dedication to them is noteworthy. Just being in their presence made me want to be a better person.....and cover my knees. In my guestimation the day was an overwhelming success for the school, as we guaged by the endless lines for food and the generous bids on the gorgeous quilts that were auctioned, and the fact that it took us an hour to find our car in the vast pasture/ parking lot. My treasure for the day was several packages of homemade noodles. Our supper for the evening was homemade chicken noodle soup. The Farmers first comment after eating was, "Am I going to have to get you a noodle maker?" Sometimes that man is so astute, it amazes me! Back home on the farm we are preparing for fall. The tomatoes are setting small fruit, the fields are getting plowed ready for Spring planting. The strawberry fields will be prepared in the next two weeks for October planting. It is almost time to start the courting season of the does. They will be reunited with their one and only in a couple of weeks. The goat milk supply is remaining steady, the cow milk supply is going to dwindle for a while, as we are preparing for winter calves. MARKET HOURS: Saturday from 10:00 AM until 4:00 PM. Special appointments can be made throughout the week for dairy pickup. From our farmstead to your table thank you for all of your support!!